Chương 52: Three Moves Ahead

Cecilia had decided not to sit on her hands while Luca's team scouted the city. She needed her own eyes on things, so she went to Porta Nuova, one of the biggest rail hubs, where there had been an explosion of reports about uncontrolled monster movements. She wore her usual look—a slim jacket, close-cut pants, and flats so she could move if things got messy. The jacket hid her shoulder holster, though she preferred to avoid violence if it wasn't necessary.

Her presence was supposed to be an answer, but only when it had to be. Matteo walked with her. He didn't question why she needed to be there in person instead of sending a squad. He'd learned early on that when Cecilia said she was going somewhere, there was no point in trying to redirect her. He kept pace, looking more like her lawyer than a mafia enforcer. There were military vehicles outside Porta Nuova when they arrived. The army had set up a small barricade, but they weren't blocking civilians.

Just keeping them moving through quickly, like they expected an attack. A soldier waved Cecilia toward a temporary checkpoint. She showed the fake ID Matteo had made for her: a municipal work permit that gave her "business access" to key infrastructure sites. It wasn't real, of course, but it looked official enough. The soldier looked tired. Young.

"What's your purpose here, miss?"

"We're monitoring power grid issues," Cecilia said, the lie flowing easily.

"We heard there's been a spike in energy fluctuations." The soldier frowned, like that wasn't one he'd been briefed on. He turned his head toward his senior officer, who gave a quick hand signal.

"You'll have twenty minutes," the soldier said.

"And stay clear of the trains."

"Thank you. I appreciate it." She kept her eyes on his face as she passed, watching for the moment when he let his guard drop. These weren't men used to fighting System monsters. They were holding a line that could break easily, and it was starting to show in the little details: how he shifted his weight, the way his hands didn't rest on the rifle like they should have.

Matteo followed close as she moved into the station, pulling off to the side where a wall of posters listed out evacuation routes and safety instructions that hadn't been updated since before the last Scenario.

"He's not ready," Matteo said in a low voice.

"They're not trained for this."

"No, they're not," Cecilia agreed.

"But they're still trying. That's worth something." They reached a quiet alcove in one of the side corridors, away from the soldiers and the sparse civilian traffic. She turned to face Matteo, watching his calm, unblinking stare.

"What do we have?" she asked.

"The council is putting more restrictions on private movement through key zones." He kept his voice neutral, like they were still at the office.

"But they haven't made it official yet. Rossi's people are pushing for more oversight of contracts, too. They're getting nervous about the Player economy."

"Of course they are." Cecilia stepped closer, leaning back against the wall, watching a group of workers pass by at the far end of the hallway.

"What about Dario?"

"Busy in Mirafiori, rounding up recruits who want to join the Family instead of going at it alone. He's keeping Iris close, as you wanted." Cecilia gave him a look. Matteo never voiced his opinion about Iris unless she asked, which she appreciated. It was one of the ways he had earned his place with her, even when Ruggiero and the others weren't always as measured.

"Is he keeping her safe, or using her as bait?"

"Luca's been quiet. No complaints." She tilted her head, a subtle prompt.

"You know what I mean." He hesitated just a fraction of a second.

"He's using her, but with respect. She's smart enough to handle herself. The leverage works both ways. And Dario's not careless."

"Good." Cecilia reached up, adjusting the collar of Matteo's jacket even though there was nothing out of place. It wasn't something she often did. She rarely needed the intimacy of it with him, but right now, it felt necessary, like a reminder to both of them that they were still human in the middle of all the numbers and plans.

"Ruggiero's doing well with the new training schedule," Matteo said, as if it would distract her, as if he couldn't sense what she needed without words.

"I'm sure he is." She smiled a little, stepping back.

"I'll talk to him when I get back."

"If there's going to be a change in your strategy, you need to say so before the Scenario." Matteo's voice dropped a level, serious, the way it got when he was laying out truths she'd rather not face. She didn't deny it. They both knew the world was closing in, that the city would fall apart again soon, and it would take more than passive moves from her to keep the Leonellis at the top.

"I'm aware, Matteo." He held her gaze.

"I'm just saying..."

"Stop." The word came out sharper than she meant, and he went still, letting it land. She took a breath, then softened it.

"You don't need to keep checking. I'm not slipping."

"I wasn't saying that," he said, even though they both knew he had been. But he didn't push further, and she appreciated that more than she would say. She checked her watch, letting the moment pass.

"We should finish up here." As they moved out of the alcove, she saw a young woman in a maintenance worker's uniform moving through the crowd near the tracks. Something about her gait didn't fit. Too careful, too calm. And when she looked up for a second, Cecilia saw the woman's eyes lock on her before sliding away.

"Company," Cecilia said, keeping her voice even. Matteo glanced, catching it too. He subtly adjusted his stance, a little closer to her, not obvious, just a shift in readiness. The woman made no move to confront them, but she didn't look away again, either. Instead, she joined another pair of workers at the next exit, blending in like nothing had happened.

"Am I imagining it?" Matteo murmured, still relaxed.

"No. We're being watched." She could guess who was behind it, but she wasn't sure whether they were working for the city or someone else. It didn't change her plans, but it was an adjustment to be made. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. She kept walking, leading the way to a part of the station that was more public, near the news kiosk where soldiers handed out flyers on emergency preparedness.

If the woman was going to try something, she'd have to do it in front of witnesses. Cecilia pretended to look at one of the maps on the wall, tracing her finger along the evacuation routes with an exaggerated interest. She could see Matteo keeping an eye on the woman's reflection in the glass of a nearby vending machine. Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw the woman moving again, but this time with the three other workers. They weren't casual now.

They moved in a coordinated way, cutting off a side exit Cecilia would have used if she wanted to leave the station quietly. So it was a block. A soft ambush, but enough to keep her here until something more happened. She sighed, turning toward Matteo, letting herself look annoyed instead of threatened. It was a better performance if it felt natural.

"I think we should go." He nodded, and they started toward the main entrance, slower than they would have otherwise, like they weren't hurrying. The four workers didn't rush. They just kept pace, letting her and Matteo know they were there. A few soldiers noticed, but nothing aggressive enough to trigger a response, and Cecilia wasn't going to force a fight in front of an army squad unless she had to.

As they reached the threshold, she saw a black car idling at the curb, the window down just enough for the driver to see her. It was one of theirs. She gave the slightest signal, and the car pulled forward.

"Get in," she murmured, stepping onto the sidewalk, Matteo right behind her. The workers stayed near the station doors, their faces blank, like they had done their job just by delaying her for a few minutes. She looked back once, memorizing faces, and then got into the car, Matteo following. As the driver pulled away, Matteo turned to her.

"New group?"

"Seems like it."

"Not professionals."

"Not yet." Cecilia sat back, crossing her legs, letting the calm settle back over her.

"They'll learn, or someone with experience will teach them."

"Could be city security."

"No, they'd have called the soldiers. This is personal." She glanced at Matteo, seeing the flicker of understanding.

"We'll have to send someone to ask questions." He nodded, already thinking it through.

"I'll take care of it. But you should increase security around the Palazzo. If they knew to find you here, they could know more than we want them to."

"You're right." She looked out the window, watching the streets slide by. There had been a time when she had known exactly where every threat was coming from. Now, the possibilities were spreading, multiplying. It was part of the deal she had made with the new world. There were no guarantees. Only results. Later, back at the Palazzo, Cecilia found Luca and his team in their basement workspace.

It had grown in the weeks since they'd joined the Family, with more monitors, better equipment, and papers everywhere, pinned up on the walls like the whole thing was a conspiracy board from a TV show. She stood in the doorway for a second before making her presence known, just observing the way they worked. Luca was hunched over his keyboard, eyes glued to the screen. Ermilio was talking to Iris, sketching something on a whiteboard. Giulia was tinkering with some small device in the corner, and Ivan...

he was asleep in a chair in the back of the room, his legs stretched out like he'd forgotten where he was. Iris noticed her first, a quick glance, then a pause. Luca followed her look, and the whole room froze for a second. Cecilia smiled, stepping in.

"Don't stop on my account." Luca rubbed the back of his neck, standing up.

"I didn't know you'd come down here."

"I check in," she said.

"You should be used to it by now." She walked past him, glancing over their notes, not stopping.

"What are you seeing that I should know?" He came up beside her, more at ease now.

"We've been mapping the energy outputs from the rail yards. The spawns are getting more clustered, not scattered like before. It looks like the System's building up pressure in certain places, then releasing it all at once. It's more calculated."

"Which means what?"

"If the pattern holds, the city-wide event's going to be more destructive than anything we've seen." He pointed to one of the monitors, a graph showing a spike, steeper and steeper as time went on.

"There's no reason to think the System is going to pull back on this." Iris moved closer, standing beside Luca, her hands in the pockets of her jacket.

"He thinks the players will fight over the high-value targets, and the rest of the city will get hit hard because there won't be enough coordination to cover everything." Cecilia watched her for a second. Iris didn't shrink away from her authority, and she wasn't intimidated the way she should have been, being this close to the power of the Family. There was a nerve to her that Luca didn't have, and that could be useful if it was aimed in the right direction.

"That's a fair assumption," she said, shifting her gaze back to Luca.

"You're recommending what?"

"We secure a few locations early, set up secondary defenses to blunt the fallout in areas no one will cover." He clicked through a few screens, showing a map with areas shaded in different colors, priority versus risk.

"If we move fast, we can make it look like we're saving the city while really just owning the best positions."

"Smart." She moved to a free chair and sat, folding one leg over the other.

"And what about the Players? They won't all go after the big targets."

"Some will. Some will try the smaller spawns, but they're disorganized," Ermilio cut in.

"We're getting reports from the forums. No one has a unified strategy. They're just reacting. We can use that." Cecilia nodded. She'd expected as much. The Leonelli family had never needed to be the strongest force, just the smartest, and this was proving to be no different.

"What about better gear?" She turned to Giulia, who perked up at the question.

"I've got some prototypes based on what we've scavenged. The new items have properties that let us enhance physical barriers, like making them resistant to certain monster attacks. If we combine that with some of our existing equipment..." Cecilia held up a hand, cutting her off.

"I don't need the technical details right now. Just tell me you can equip the squads with something better by tomorrow."

"Yes."

"Good." She pushed herself up.

"Start prepping the resources. Coordinate with Bianca on deployment. I want everyone in place before the notification drops. The less scrambling we have to do, the better." Luca nodded.

"We're on it." She watched them for a moment, thinking how far they'd come in such a short time. Not just Luca, but the whole group. They were beginning to function like the core of something that could reshape the city. She smiled to herself, but kept her expression even. This wasn't the time for sentiment.

"Just stay ahead of it," she said, looking at each of them in turn.

"Whatever you think is coming, assume it's already worse than that."

"Yes, boss," Luca said, and it wasn't a joke. Iris bit her lip like she wanted to say something, then seemed to decide against it. That was fine. Cecilia wasn't looking for affection, just results. She left the room, feeling the familiar quiet settle over her as she climbed the stairs back up. This was the calm before the storm, the space where she could think, where the weight of everything she was managing was most palpable.

She walked the long hallway to her office, the sound of her steps echoing against the old stone. When she got there, Bianca was waiting, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed.

"I heard there were new players making moves," Bianca said.

"At Porta Nuova."

"They tried to block me," Cecilia agreed, moving past her into the room.

"They were too polite for it to be serious, but it was a message." Bianca followed her in, closing the door.

"They know we're getting stronger."

"Of course they do." She sat at her desk, looking out at the courtyard where the rain was still coming down.

"We just need to remind them why they're afraid." She reached for her computer and pulled up the surveillance reports she'd had waiting for her, but she didn't start with those. She looked at Bianca, studying the calm lines of her face.

"When the city-wide hits, I want you in the field. Not behind the scenes." Bianca straightened slightly, but didn't argue.

"Where do you want me?"

"Take two squads. Focus on the mid-level locations, the ones no one's thinking are prizes yet. Grab them, lock them down, and leave the big players to waste themselves."

"I will." Bianca nodded.

"And Ruggiero?" Cecilia smiled.

"He can have the main target if he wants it, but we both know we'll get the better gains elsewhere."

"You want me to compete."

"No." She leaned back in her chair, folding her arms.

"I want you to do what you're best at: staying ahead. And if that makes the rest of them look slow, then maybe they'll learn." Bianca gave a small nod, her eyes catching the light like she could see everything Cecilia wasn't saying. They never needed to spell it out. They were too close to the same rhythm.

"I'll be ready," she said.